When is it Okay for Kids to Own a Smartphone?

There is never a perfect age for a kid to own a smartphone, but there are some signs that might help you to understand when the time is right.

Most parents remember their first smartphone very clearly. It was an age where the internet was not even a concern, the camera was barely worth having and the text was simple. But that’s not the case today.

In the early 2000s, teens used to text or make phone calls. It was a much simpler phase but nowadays, the kid needs to be prepared for a lot more coming at them on their phones and not just calls or messages.

Kids have access to everything, images, apps, videos, and articles present on the web. Everything is shareable within seconds on fingertips. As a parent, you might have a lot of questions in your head like, is my kid prepared for a smartphone? When are the kids mature enough to have access at their fingertips?

Dangers of Smartphones in Tweens and Teens

Kids may feel that you don’t trust them with smartphones, but the main reason is the kid’s safety. Even if you trust your kid, you can never trust the people around them.

1. Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can leave a major and lasting effect on your kid’s mind. Before you hand over a smartphone to your child, you need to have open conversations with your child about cyberbully. By having open conversations, the kid might feel comfortable in reaching out to you in case of any troubles.

2. Inappropriate Content

Parents are always concerned about the explicit and inappropriate content their kids might see. Without even surfing through some objectionable websites, the kids might see content they are not ready to see. When you hand over the phone to your kid, you can enable various search engine tools like restricted search or install a parental control app.

3. Screen Time Dependency and Addiction

Your kids aren’t with you most of the day. When they have an individual phone, they might be spending an entire day online without even realizing it. Hence the screen time dependency remains a major concern for the parents. Hence a parental control app can be very beneficial, no matter where your kids are, you can be sure they are safe.

Major Benefits of a Smartphone

It is very normal for parents to be worried about their tweens and teens owning a smartphone. But there are a lot of benefits for you and your kids when you decide the time is right

1. Quick Communication

The most obvious advantage is easy communication with your kids wherever they go. On the other side, if they are stuck somewhere, they can contact you.

2. Learning Responsibility

kid to own a smartphone is not a cheap investment. So, you can explain to them the costs associated with the phone. They can also gain deep knowledge of how important it is to keep track of their phone.

3. Developing Good Habits

Your kid will eventually own a phone, whether it is today or a few years later. If you have had a productive conversation with them, they will make smart choices. They can start taking up various responsibilities.

Indications your kid is ready for a smartphone

We have all heard, “all my friends have personal smartphones”. As parents, it’s tough to make them realize the importance of a phone and that every kid matures differently.

There is never a good age for kids to own a smartphone. It would have been great if there was such an age. If you have been telling your kid about screen time and the dangers one can face with smartphones, your kid might be ready for a smartphone with the help of some parental control.

The real matter is trust, is there mutual trust between you and your kid? If you trust your kid, then they can handle the responsibility of a smartphone. And if they also trust you, they can look up to you on any issue.

Conclusion

However, your kid might be responsible as well as trustworthy, things can still show up that they aren’t expecting. At such times, a parental control app is very useful. You can use Phone Agent 007; it will help you to

• View all the incoming calls and outgoing calls including the durations and time stamps.
• View all the sent/received messages and the multimedia files exchanged by the user.
• Monitor the WhatsApp chats, calls, images, etc.
• Track and monitor all the social media information through the best monitoring app.
• View and track the live location of your kid’s phone and check their route history.
• View all the multimedia files including the images, videos, gifs, etc.
• Check all the installed applications, you can even block the undesired applications.
• Monitor the online activities of your kid and block the undesired websites.
• View all the monitored data from your control panel.